Coming to theatres from director/producer Garrett Price and Lurker Productions is a documentary on the life of Anton Yelchin with LOVE, ANTOSHA.

Best known for his role as the young Chekov in the STAR TREK films, Anton Yelchin wasn’t a new comer to films. Not at all, in fact his career began at a young age beginning in 2000 with a role in the television series ER. I remember that episode clearly and Yelchin plays young boy Robbie who loses his parents.

From the moment Yelchin is on screen, there is something amazing in his eyes that says ‘get ready to break out the kleenex everyone’ which I did. But this wouldn’t be the only time this actor would move me.

In 2001 in the film HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, he once again tests every emotion possible. Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2004 would show us another side of Yelchin with scenes that were pure brilliance. 

HOUSE OF D that same year from writer/director David Duchovny cements Yelchin as an actor beyond words. Next came ALPHA DOG and CHARLIE BARTLETT along side Robin Williams followed by THE BEAVER with Jodie Foster.

In between Hollywood roles, Yelchin made it clear he wanted to make the un-Hollywood type films. Those around him saw that he needed to stretch and explore different characters in different ways.

When STAR TREK came, viewers thought that this was a newcomer to Hollywood. They embraced the young Chekov and now I can even imagine anyone doing the role. Yelchin met Walter Koenig, Chekov from the original 60s STAR TREK and it is easy to see from this documentary that he wanted to please Koenig.

But there was so much more to this talented and sensitive actor. The only son of immigrant Russian parents, Yelchin showed at a very early age that he was fascinated with films and music. He grew with each and every opportunity and influenced by each person he met.

That is what makes this documentary so absolutely fantastic. It starts with his family talking about where they came from and how they raised their son. Then his close friends talk about the time they spent together and how they always did things nutty (as guys tend to do).

The most surprising part of this documentary is the amount of people that actually knew Yelchin and by this I mean Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Martin Landau for starters. There are funny stories told by Chris Pine and Simon Pegg about Yelchin’s need to photograph the unusualness he would find just walking down the street.

The most moving part of this documentary are the notes that Antosha left for his family to constantly remind them of his love. The raw notes he would write to himself are read by Nicholas Cage who happened to be Yelchin’s favorite actor.

What a rare few knew was that Yelchin suffered from Cystic Fibrosis and, as with everything this young man did, he did not use CF as an excuse to not push himself. Instead he did what was necessary and jumped into his life fray with every bit of heart and soul he had.

June 19, 2016, the world would lose Yelchin in what would seem the most senseless way. A preventable accident would take him away from the world that so embraced his talent.

In the sadness of this we have to remember one thing, this young actor left behind 69 films and that is stunning. I have seen many of his films but after seeing this documentary, I want to see each and every film he made!

The film brings J.J. Abrams, Sofia Boutella, John Cho, Ian Cripps, Marlon Clark, Willem Dafoe, Joe Dante, Paul David, Ryan Dean, Drake Doremus, Ben Foster, Jodie Foster, Cxraif Gillespie, Dave Glowacki, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Jones, Avy Kaufman, Frank Langella, Mary Lester, Mark Palansky, Jon Poll, Zachary Quinto, Parush Rao, Zoe Saldana, Luke Shaft, Sophie Simpson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jon Voight, and Richard Wicklund out to talk about their feelings and some of it will bring a tear and a lot will bring laughs.

Having amazing access to his journals, writings, home movies, photographs, artwork and music – there doesn’t seem to be a stone left unturned to share with the viewer. That is what makes this documentary so very special – its honesty to both the light and dark of his life.

We should all have such amazing friends that would want the world to know who we are, how we are and everything in between in such a way as Price has put together in LOVE, ANTOSHA.

In the end – he was so much more and now we know just how much more!

Comments

comments

Recommend to friends
  • gplus
  • pinterest

About the Author

Jeri Jacquin

Jeri Jacquin covers film, television, DVD/Bluray releases, celebrity interviews, festivals and all things entertainment.